Elapsed
by xintothefire
Summary: When Eli Goldsworthy moves back to Toronto, newly engaged and baring old secrets, the last thing he expects is for his high school sweetheart, Clare Edwards, to be the wedding planner.


"Just like that?"

"Just like that!"

Alli Bhandari was a disaster.

It had been the fifth time she had broken up with her boyfriend in only a three month span. Anyone would've found this an incredibly blunt sign, but the girl refused to move on. First loves were - quite literally, a bitch.

Clare Edwards looked at the dark haired girl, her own eyes lightened with sorrow. "Start from the beginning. Tell me what happened exactly."

Alli sighed, exasperated, and rolled her dark eyes in annoyance. With a swipe of her hand, she smudged mascara onto her cheeks. "We were out at dinner. I thought it was going great until he pulled his hand back and got all serious. All Drew said, was that 'we were growing apart', and thought it would be in our best interest if we took a break. What the hell does that even mean? All we ever GET are breaks!" She throw her body back on the bed, groaning at the stubborn tears that continued to fall relentlessly.

As hard as she tried to reign it in, Clare smiled softly and laid back with her. "You know he's going to call you tomorrow and apologize, and then you two will fight about the apology, and then make up for fighting about that as well."

Alli glared over at her best friend and roommate, but the other girl missed it. They had been friends through the entirety of high school, and shared a apartment only blocks from university. While Alli had been going to get her degree in Neuroscience, Clare had received a creative writing Scholarship where she was well along at gaining her English major.

"How do you know that?" she challenged, sniffling quietly.

Clare propped herself onto her elbow and stared her in the eye. "Because it is exactly what happened the past four times." Her voice was flat, as if Alli had asked her what color the sky was.

"You sure?" Queue another sniffle.

"Yes."

It was times like this when Alli envied her best friend. Alli was flirty. She was open, and bright and outgoing. Clare, almost completely polar, was reserved, and classic, and independent, and strong. How the two had become friends to begin with was mind boggling.

"What would I do with out you?" Alli asked, smiling for the first time that night.

"Die." Clare teased in returning, smirking for good measure. "But before you do that," she paused to rest her palm on Alli's, sending her a warm gesture. "I already ordered a pizza. and rented movies. and turned both of our cells off. A girls night is well ensued."

"You," Alli began, grinning widely and pushing the heavy comforter off of her body, her raven hair falling in a curtain down her back, "are a life saver."

* * *

><p>A few hours passed, and both girls lay motionless on the wrap around couch. On the screen played some ridiculously over speculated chick flick, A Walk to Remember if Clare remembered correctly. She glanced over at her friend, who was fast asleep on the other side, cradling a small box of assorted chocolates. The sight was laughable, but Clare simply got up and took it from her hands, placing it on the coffee table across from the couch. The movie was still playing as she made way to the kitchen, her throat perched. Just as Clare opened the fridge to retrieve a bottle of filtered water, a shrill alarm sounded from her blackberry.<p>

"Oh, shoot..." she murmured, hoping not to awake Alli in the other room. Quickly, she scattered in her bag for her cell phone, which she had previously thought she had turned off. After reading the screen, her face scrunched in confusion. It was past eleven, on a Friday night. The call was entirely random for her mother's behavior.

"Mom?" she murmured, pressing the tiny green call button.

"Clare! Thank heavens you're awake; I figured you'd be asleep by now, with exams and midterms and all, but I figured I'd give it a shot."

"Yeah, I'm here. What's up?" Her mothers ranting was back to usual, and Clare immediately took in notice that nothing was wrong at all. Balancing the phone between her shoulder and ear, she made way back into the kitchen. She picked the bottle up and balanced it between her hands, waiting for her reply.

"I just have a question, sweetie."

"Okay?" The hesitation rang clear in her voice.

"I know you ought to be busy lately with your classes, but I was hoping you'd be able to help me with a wedding."

Once her mother divorced years previous, Helen Grace, formally known for years before as Helen Edwards, used her high strung lifestyle and stress to focus on something more promising. Helen's wedding planning business was a small pastime at first, focusing on mostly friends of friends and family affairs, little did she know, it'd grow to be one of the biggest and most successful agencies in Toronto, Canada.

Clare rubbed her temples and sighed softly. It was just after spring break and classes were beginning to settle...

"How much help do you need?"

"That s the thing, dear."

The silence was aching.

"I'm in the middle of planning the Richard wedding, and you already know how influential this could be for the business."

"Meaning?" Clare s voice was flat, dull.

"I'd be willing to give you 80% profit. I know you aren't in it for the money, but you are a college student, Clare."

Oh, how terribly dirty her mother persuaded.

"Meaning?" The repeated question was intentious.

"You'd be planning the whole wedding; flower arrangements, dining seating, cake testing, everything."

"Mom!" Clare was never a woman to whine, and here she found herself exasperated. A twenty one year old, whining to her mother.

"I already asked Cecilia and Jenny. Everyone's booked."

Silently praying for a 'yes', Helen waited patiently as her daughter remained silent on the other line. The line buzzed softly, and she wrung her hands in front of her, feeling a few grey hairs grow.

"80 percent profit?" Clare's voice was dubious, but the smallest sense of hopefulness ran through, only obvious to a mother's ears.

"Yes! I can't thank you enough, sweetie."

"No, you can't." Clare answered truthfully, knowing her mother would forever be in her debt. As much stress planning a wedding would be, Clare's part time employment at the local bakery as a waitress wasn't as satisfying at filling her financial needs as necessary. "So, when am I meeting the lucky bride?" She continued. Clare Edwards planning a wedding ceremony was just about the most contradictive thing in existence. Her cynical thoughts about love were contrasted so darkly upon such a thing, but money was money. And though she hated to admit it, Clare was a perfect person to be in such a business; precise, accurate, proper.

"That's the thing..."

"Oh, no."

"It's nothing too terrible! Don't be so quick to jump to conclusions, dear. It's just that the engagement is a short one, from what she told me. Sarah was thinking a month, max."

"A month? To plan the entire wedding?"

"Oh, quit being so bitter, Clare. It's do-able."

Clare rested her face in her hands and placed the cellular device on the counter, pressing the speakerphone button. A strand of stubborn auburn hair fell in her eyes, and she swatted it away irritably.

"Sarah and her fianc just moved back to Toronto. Apparently it's where he grew up, and she wants to get to know some of his childhood friends who'll be attending."

"Sounds super."

"Clare!" Her mothers voice scolded. "If you don't want to do this, I can figure something out."

"No, no." Clare sighed, scrunching her small nose. "I'm just tired, mom. I'll do it."

"Good."

There was a lapse in silence, and Clare was just about to open her mouth when Helen spoke up again.

"I told Sarah the planner would meet her at the dot tomorrow around eleven, just to go over some basics and get to know each other a little, seeing as though you will be spending quite a lot of time together over the next few weeks."

"Sounds great, mom." There was a shift in the other room, and Clare's blue iris's flickered in the direction. "Mom, I have to go. Alli's going through some.. problems with Drew again." The last portion was added in a hushed manner, and made Helen sigh in annoyance. Clare could visualize her mother rolling her eyes.

"I wish the girl would realize how much better she deserves."

"Me too, mom. Me too." Clare chuckled darkly. It wasn't that she hated Drew, she just wasn't his biggest fan.

"Young love makes people do incredibly ignorant things."

There was no response from Clare, who sat stilled in the kitchen. The lights were dim, and a slight light shone in casted from the moon. Her eyes froze in a stare, and her mother regretted her words at once.

"Clare?" Her mothers voice was meek, testing.

Still no response. The girl was lost in thought, lost in thoughts of years previous when all idealistic requisitions of love was thrown out the window. Love was a fantasy, something people hoped to believe in for the mere fact that they feared to be alone; nothing more, nothing less.

"Clare?"

There was only a moment before the girl broke from her thoughts.

"I'm really tired. I'm going to catch some sleep before tomorrow." Her voice was a quiet murmur, but she was sure her other could hear her.

"Cla-"

"Night, mom."

The line was dead without a second to spare.

Clare was more than willing to continue to sit there and space out, but Alli walked in, eliminating all chances of that.

"Hey. You alright?" The dark haired girl rested her hand on Clare's shoulder. The irony of the change in positions made her laugh. It was a laugh that wasn't entirely convincing, and made Alli rise an eyebrow.

"I'm fine. I'm just sleepy. I think I'm going to go to bed." Clare slipped out of Alli's grip, and padded to her bedroom, not bothering to change out of her clothes before collapsing on the bed and welcoming the sleep that consumed her.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Just the beginning of a story that I've had in my head forever. I figured now that Eclare is donezo and my heart is forever broken while Degrassi is on break, I should make up as much love as I can on my own. D': 3 And I do promise it will become more interesting. **

**Review, por favor? :3**


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